The National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) was founded in 2015, anchored by the Government of India, to draw money from domestic and global institutional investors into infrastructure. On 31 December 2019 the Finance Minister released the summary report of the National Infrastructure Pipeline, listing over ₹102 lakh crore of projects for 2019-20 to 2024-25; the Task Force's final report of 29 April 2020 raised this to ₹111 lakh crore. The National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) was set up in April 2021 under the NaBFID Act, 2021, as a development finance institution for long-term infrastructure lending. The RBI granted it All India Financial Institution status on 8 March 2022.
Infrastructure Financing
Infrastructure Financing
India pays for roads, railways, ports and power through the Union Budget, state budgets, public financial institutions and private capital. The Central Government's capital expenditure was ₹2.53 lakh crore in 2015-16 and ₹10.52 lakh crore in 2024-25 (actuals), and is budgeted at ₹12.2 lakh crore for 2026-27. Alongside the budget, the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (2015), the National Infrastructure Pipeline (2019) and the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (2021) were created to channel long-term money into projects, and Indian government bonds entered a JP Morgan emerging-market bond index in 2024. The counter shows the Union government's capital expenditure.
₹3.03 lakh cr
Loans sanctioned by NaBFID (Dec 2025)
₹111 lakh cr
National Infrastructure Pipeline, 2019-20 to 2024-25 (Apr 2020)
$4.9 bn
Assets managed by NIIF (Mar 2026)
Union capital expenditure, actuals (₹ lakh crore)
| Year | Union capital expenditure |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 2.53 ₹ lakh cr |
| 2017 | 2.85 ₹ lakh cr |
| 2018 | 2.63 ₹ lakh cr |
| 2019 | 3.08 ₹ lakh cr |
| 2020 | 3.36 ₹ lakh cr |
| 2021 | 4.26 ₹ lakh cr |
| 2022 | 5.93 ₹ lakh cr |
| 2023 | 7.40 ₹ lakh cr |
| 2024 | 9.49 ₹ lakh cr |
| 2025 | 10.52 ₹ lakh cr |
2016
0.00₹ lakh cr
Union capital expenditure
20162025
Since 2016
Added
+7.99 ₹ lakh cr
2016
2.53 ₹ lakh cr
2025
10.52 ₹ lakh cr
Why it matters Capital expenditure pays for assets that last for decades, such as highways, rail lines and water systems, rather than day-to-day running costs. How that money is raised, and at what cost and tenure, affects how quickly projects are finished and what users eventually pay in tolls, tariffs and fares.
- Union capital expenditure: ₹2.53 lakh crore (2015-16 actuals) → ₹10.52 lakh crore (2024-25 actuals); ₹10.96 lakh crore Revised Estimate for 2025-26 and ₹12.22 lakh crore Budget Estimate for 2026-27 (February 2026)
- National Infrastructure Pipeline: over ₹102 lakh crore of projects for 2019-20 to 2024-25 (31 December 2019), revised to ₹111 lakh crore in the Task Force's final report (29 April 2020)
- NaBFID: set up in April 2021 under the NaBFID Act, 2021; first loan disbursed December 2022; about ₹3.03 lakh crore sanctioned and ₹1.09 lakh crore disbursed (December 2025)
- NIIF: founded in 2015 and anchored by the Government of India; manages USD 4.9 billion in assets across four funds (March 2026)
- JP Morgan emerging-market bond index: inclusion of Indian government bonds announced October 2023; foreign investors held USD 28 billion of eligible (FAR) bonds as of 15 December 2024
History
Notable milestone
NaBFID disbursed its first loan in December 2022. Its sanctions stood at more than ₹86,804 crore in February 2024, when a target of ₹3 lakh crore by March 2026 was set, and reached about ₹3.03 lakh crore, with about ₹1.09 lakh crore disbursed, by December 2025. Separately, the inclusion of Indian government bonds in the JP Morgan emerging-market bond index, announced in October 2023, drew ₹1.1 lakh crore of foreign portfolio debt flows between October 2023 and June 2024, according to the Economic Survey 2024-25.
How it works
The Union Budget funds projects directly through capital expenditure, and through grants to states for creating capital assets; the two together are reported as effective capital expenditure, budgeted at ₹17.15 lakh crore for 2026-27. NaBFID lends for long tenors and offers products such as partial credit enhancement, which improves the rating of bonds issued by project companies. NIIF invests equity alongside sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and multilateral banks. Completed assets can be monetised through infrastructure investment trusts, releasing money for new projects.
Outlook
The Union Budget 2026-27 raised public capital expenditure to ₹12.2 lakh crore and announced an Infrastructure Risk Guarantee Fund to give partial guarantees to lenders against construction-stage risks. NaBFID sanctioned its first partial credit enhancement facility in February 2026 and is setting up investment arms at GIFT City. The central question is whether private and long-term institutional money grows alongside budget spending, which reached ₹10.52 lakh crore in 2024-25.
By the numbers
₹2.53 → ₹10.52 lakh crore Union capital expenditure (2015-16 → 2024-25, actuals). ₹12.22 lakh crore capital expenditure and ₹17.15 lakh crore effective capital expenditure budgeted for 2026-27. ₹111 lakh crore National Infrastructure Pipeline (2019-20 to 2024-25). ₹3.03 lakh crore sanctioned and ₹1.09 lakh crore disbursed by NaBFID (December 2025). USD 4.9 billion managed by NIIF (March 2026). Sources: Ministry of Finance Budget documents and Economic Survey; PIB.
Data current to: Actuals 2015-16 to 2024-25; Budget Estimate 2026-27
Source: Ministry of Finance, Union Budget documents — the chart shows the Central Government's capital expenditure in actuals (₹ lakh crore), 2015-16 to 2024-25: Budget at a Glance 2017-18 and 2018-19 for 2015-16 and 2016-17, Economic Survey 2025-26 Statistical Appendix Table 2.3 for 2017-18 to 2023-24, and Budget at a Glance 2026-27 for 2024-25. The dip in 2017-18 is in the official actuals. The headline is the 2026-27 Budget Estimate of ₹12.2 lakh crore, from PIB's Budget highlights of 1 February 2026 (linked). · link